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If a child cant learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn
(Ignacio Estrada). This quote should be posted in every teachers classroom because it is vital
that every student learns the content to the best of their abilities. Learning styles have a reflection
of how one feels about assessments and how one performs on assessments. Throughout life,
assessments have been emphasized on success; however, not all teachers meet the learning needs
for success. Assessments need to be created with students learning styles in mind. Assessments
are a large part of learning, so they need to be designed based on the standards and tailored to
meet the learning abilities of the students.
Assessments play many roles in the classroom, but the most important role is allowing
teachers to observe students in their learning styles and what material is being mastered.
Observing a student hard at work allows for one to assess and adjust. The comprehensive
assessment plan is a guide for all to follow to ensure assessment is being implemented
effectively in a classroom. Formative assessments are used frequently and aid in educating the
student and the teacher. In the 21st century students are learning differently, implementing
technology more and more allowing assessments to be given in different ways. With this new
style of learning, teaching and assessments have started to take a different path implementing
more technology into the classroom. Kahoot and Nearpod are two great websites to assess
students on their knowledge of a subject while incorporating technology. However, not all
assessments can be given using technology and many other techniques should be used to meet
the needs of all the learners. Testing can bring anxiety to some, so accommodations and
modifications such as, giving extended time, providing manipulatives, providing different tests,
or giving breaks throughout the assessment are needed to help a struggling learner.
According to Marzano, classroom assessment is a form of feedback to students
regarding their progress (p. 5) 1. When giving any type of an assessment feedback should be
given to a student, so they can fix their mistakes and receive positive feedback for what they did
correctly. Even informal formative assessments such as exit slips, observations, and discussion
should have a feedback system in use. A simple comment or post-it note is enough to provide the
information need. On summative assessments such as tests, projects, or presentations the teacher
should provide a more formal form of feedback. An appropriate example would be a grading
rubric with explanations on what they did well and what they missed or a recorded comment for
our auditory learners. Feedback should be aligned with the standards.
Standards are created and implemented in the classroom to act as guides for teachers to
follow; therefore, when creating assessments there should be a direct correlation to the standards.
Curriculum based assessments are key to criterion based assessments and allow the teacher to
ensure they are teaching the standards fully. Implementing assessments can also help students
prepare for future standardized assessments. Not all instruction should be focused on
standardized testing, but it is important to prepare students and familiarize them with the layout
of the tests and the materials on the test. Familiarizing students with a similar layout can be
tough. Formal written assessments are not always chosen because they do not meet all the
learning styles; however, they should be implemented often enough for the student to become
familiar with the layouts and for the teacher to administer a summative assessment. Standardized
tests do not meet the different learning styles, but classroom assessments should.
When designing an assessment, the needs of the three common learners, auditory, visual,
and kinesthetic, need to be meet. Auditory learners may prefer to participate in an interview,
while a visual learner may enjoy filling out a graphic organizer, and a kinesthetic learner would
prefer to create a project. When creating an assessment it does not always need to be the same

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assessment for every student, but it does need to follow the same standard and objective. The
layout of all assessments must include the three-tier system of leveled questions. Tier one
questions with basic knowledge, tier two with application questions, and tier three with extension
of their knowledge questions are the three levels of questions. The three-tier system breaks down
the material and provides a deeper look into the areas that need more instruction or the areas that
the students have reached mastery in. Auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners all have different
needs, but have the same goal in the end.
Assessments are given to present feedback for everyone involved. In past experiences,
the same test was given all four times and they did not provide accurate information. If a student
receives a perfect on the test then this shows that the student has a good understanding of the
material and they should take a more advanced test the next time; however, this is not always
done. A student that is at grade level or above needs to be provided with a challenge; this can be
best provided with the RTII method. A classroom that instructs with the Response to Instruction
and Intervention method in mind meets the needs of each student individually. When a student is
placed in one of the levels it does not mean they will be limited to just that level, but will likely
move around while learning different objectives. With frequent assessments the teacher will
receive feedback often and can move students around to meet their needs. A majority of the
students will be placed in the primary level of prevention because these students will have a good
understanding of the material and will need less one-on-one work. Rigor will be a main
component while working with this group. The students will benefit from receiving five level
three questions with more difficulty, which will take more thinking to complete than fifteen level
two questions. While, these students are working independently or in small groups the teacher
will be working more one-on-one with the students in the secondary level of prevention. This is a
smaller group of students that need more specific instruction. Finally, the smallest group, the
tertiary level of prevention, could benefit from pull out services to meet their needs. Students at
this level could benefit from taking a diagnostic test. Diagnostic tests are not needed for
everyone, but can provide the information and answers needed to arrange the help needed. All
assessments are needed to prepare the students for their next goal.
The main point system used, gives one point for the correct response or zero points for an
incorrect response and dates back to World War One. This system was first used for the alpha
test to get into the United States Army because it was simple and easy to score. This system is
simple to use, but does not always provide enough feedback for a student. Feedback is an
important part of the learning process because it gives the extra information needed for the
student to understand what they need to improve on and how they can achieve their next goal.
Rubrics need to be provided for all project-based learning activities. A rubric gives explicit
grading information, a guideline to follow when the student is creating the project, and a
guideline to follow when grading. In recent experiences, rubrics have offered effective
information to create the ideal assignment. Another trend that is becoming more popular is
mastery-based report cards.1 When looking at a mastery-based report card advantages and
disadvantages of the system emerge. Giving this structure to all teachers gives them more of a
guideline to follow when grading and reduces the number of impractical grades. However, when
sending a long report card home that highlights each standard it can be confusing and

Hanover Research. Mastery-Based Report Cards. Retrieved from http://studentachievementblog.cbd9.net/wpcontent/uploads/2014/03/HANOVERMasteryBasedReportCards.pdf

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meaningless to the parents. Not all parents have time to read a five-page report card and the
simple one page format works better for them. Therefore, a better-structured system in school is
important, but a more simplified version to be sent home may be created.
The classroom teacher determines weighting grades. Each individual is allowed to decide
what is graded and how many points it is worth. From experience, this does not always work out
in the favor of the student. Students learning styles can lead to getting a bad grade on an
assignment the teacher feels is important. Learning style should be taken into consideration when
weighting grades. Not every student does well on a paper and pencil test, but performs better on
a project. Therefore, providing a variety of assessments is imperative. In reality not anyone
system is perfect and learning from mistakes is important, but when laying out the grading scale
and how many points an assignment is worth the teacher needs to consider the learning styles
and needs of the students.
Classroom layout should also be considered for enabling success into the classroom. The
layout of the classroom can set the tone for the year. Desk arrangement offers many learning
abilities; grouping desks into sets of four allows for a think-pair-share environment. Students are
allowed to think individually, then turn to their partner and discuss and finally share as a group
of four their thoughts. With this model it gives the teacher ample amounts of time to walk around
listening and making notes on what the students are discussing. Layout is not the only important
piece to success, but what is on the walls is important, too. Word walls are necessary to promote
vocabulary and improve writing styles. Definitions can accompany the words on the wall to
provide a dictionary of terms the student should be integrating. Also, interactive bulletin boards
are important learning devices and can double as formative assessments. The activity should
change with units and can challenge the student to put their knowledge to use. Overall, the layout
and activities provided in the room will promote positive interaction and more opportunities for
valuable assessments.
The secret in education lies in respecting the student (Ralph Waldo Emerson).
Students success is the overall goal to strive for. Yes, they need to learn to add, subtract, read,
and write, but in the end they need to learn to apply this to the world around us. A majority of
their childhood is spent in the classroom, so it is necessary to educate them and prepare them for
the future. Assessment plays a large role in assuring they are ready to move onto the next stage
or next goal they have set. Assuring the assessments meet their learning styles and needs,
matches the standards and objectives, and the grades are appropriately applied are all steps along
the way to reaching the finale goal of a student; to graduate and continue their life outside of
school.